Today we find ourselves at the cusp of a tragic and unprecedented health care epidemic fueled from the rapid rise of addiction to powerful narcotics, which are plentiful and highly addictive.

Hundreds have died of heroin overdose deaths in Massachusetts since November. According to national survey data, in Massachusetts, 9.6 percent of our citizens age 12 and older were either dependent on or abused drugs or alcohol.

That figure is too high. Every single story is tragic.

Regrettably, history is repeating itself. Heroin was legally sold on the market briefly in the early 1900s as a cough suppressant until it was outlawed as addiction became widespread. A century later, we have recreated this tragedy with oral narcotics. The recent approval of an even more powerful narcotic, Zohydro, may worsen matters.

Massachusetts has often been a leader in treating addiction problems in the past, but is overwhelmed with the rapid rise and huge scale of this epidemic because we are still not seeing this tragic epidemic for what it truly is. Addiction is a public health issue. We have stigmatized the issue and our “old way” of thinking about addiction is holding us back.

Families struggle to find where their loved ones can get treatment and are oftentimes denied access by insurance.

County jails are full of youths with minor non-violent drug offenses often related to their addiction, yet they are held at a huge cost to taxpayers and denied much-need treatment.

We do not have enough beds in our treatment facilities of all types across the commonwealth.

Medical practice is often inconsistent regarding replacement drug therapy versus full rehabilitation, often leading to confusion and ineffective treatment.

Insurance coverage presents too many barriers to proper rehabilitation and often interferes with the much needed continuity of treatment, sending our young ones back into a cycle of using and addiction.

We must have widespread re-education of physicians on pain control and proper use of narcotics.

We need to dramatically increase our efforts to educate our students and communities on the dangers of prescription drugs and heroin.

We need political leaders who will aggressively push the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry to develop and approve safer drugs that are much less addictive. We must say no to the FDA on Zohydro.

The ability to stop this tragic epidemic is within our means. But, it must start with removing the stigma. Changing our approach virtually pays for itself, and can save the lives of so many of our fellow citizens.

We need a call to arms. Strong leadership from our political leaders is necessary to lead us to this new understanding, and away from the old attitudes which are holding us back. When we recognize this tragic disease for what it is — a preventable health problem — we will be able to truly change the world for tens of thousands of families in our commonwealth.